Wissahickon School Board to form committee for redistricting after Mattison Avenue Elementary School closing

LOWER GWYNEDD — After the Wissahickon School Board voted to close Mattison Avenue Elementary School, the challenge then became how to redistrict the elementary schools in order to accommodate the extra students now without a school.

During the Jan. 28 meeting, Assistant Superintendant Dr. Christopher Marchese gave a presentation announcing the administration’s time line as to how it will begin to establish new boundaries among the elementary schools due to the absence of Mattison Avenue. Marchese said a 14-member committee of various stakeholders will be formed to decide how to be redistrict. Members of the committee will include Marchese, Matthew Walsh, Director of Elementary Teaching and Learning; Kelle Heim-McCloskey, Director of Student Services; Elizabeth Bauer, Shady Grove Elementary School principal; Denise Fagan, Blue Bell Elementary School principal; Nicole West, Lower Gwynedd Elementary School principal; Concetta Lupo, Mattison Avenue principal and Gary Abbamont, Stony Creek Elementary School principal. The committee will also include presidents of the various Home and School Associations.

According to Marchese the task of the committee will be to identify guiding principles for new attendance given the loss of Mattison Avenue and based off of the shifts in attendance over the 10-year period since the last district realignment of its boundaries. It will also work through a process to bring recommendation to the board for implementation in September.

Marchese said while the committee has a “very aggressive time line to meet this goal” he feels confident that it will be able to achieve that goal.

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With the committee members in place, the next step will be to hold a number of meetings throughout February and March including an information session for parents Feb. 5 from 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. at the high school.

Marchese said he recognized that the public will be watching these proceedings “with a close eye” and the committee will do its best to keep parents informed and allow them to submit comments for the committee to take into consideration. Parents will also have a chance to tour their child’s new school building.

By March the goal is to present a single plan to the board, then the committee will go to the public and gather feedback on the plan. Three separate meetings throughout the district are scheduled for the public to give input on the plan.

The goal is to have a final plan for the board to approve by April.

Mattison Avenue parent Christine Delaurentis said the time line shows no plans regarding transitional activities for students changing schools. She asked what activities were planned and why they weren’t they included in the plans. She also asked when the plans would be announced regarding the principals of the elementary schools.

“We do not want to hear that this is a personnel matter,” she said. “This is a personal matter when it comes to our children.”

She said the principals for each school should be announced with the first recommendation from the committee to the board in March.

In other business, board member Barbara Moyer asked what was the status of the possible construction of a new high school.

“I think the next step is for the administration to come up with possible scenarios and possibilities,” said board President Young Park.

He said a time line will be created and the board will review plans and decide whether to proceed with a new high school and how it will go about doing so.

Superintendent Judith Clark said the board and administration will look at the entire package of the financial impact of a new high school. She said over the next few weeks along with the redistricting of the elementary schools, the administration will be focusing on he financial impact of all of its recommendations made to the board last June regarding the future of the district.